


Fish Kiss

by ominousunflower



Series: Holiday Kiss [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: April Fool's Day, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ominousunflower/pseuds/ominousunflower
Summary: Luka receives an unexpected visitor for April Fool's Day."Isn't this where an excerpt from the fic is supposed to go?" Luka asks.Chat shrugs. "I think so.""But this isn't an excerpt from the fic.""Hm." Chat shakes his head in disappointment. "Alas. I guess the author isn't very good at April Fool's jokes."
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine
Series: Holiday Kiss [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556269
Comments: 38
Kudos: 293





	Fish Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> happy april fool’s day! please enjoy several thousand words of luka being a troll :3

On the first day of April, the springtime sun beats down on the deck of the Liberty, warming the chair that Luka has decided to lounge in.

There’s a bit of a chill to the air, but with his hoodie on, he doesn’t mind. He’s been too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice the temperature, anyway.

Ever since Luka almost had a fight with Chat on St. Patrick’s Day, the songs in his head have been a bit more intense than usual. And that’s fine; passion means he’s being productive. But Luka’s fingers and wrists can only take so much before he has to set down the guitar and find something else to do with his time. Today, it’s reading.

Luka sighs, lowering the book to his lap. He’s been trying to read the same line for the past five minutes, but he can’t seem to keep his thoughts from wandering to Chat. That’s a recurring theme, lately. Luka supposes it’s the natural result of being wooed by a guy who’s straight out of a romantic comedy movie.

One kiss, once a month, always on a holiday. This month, assuming Chat keeps up the tradition, there are two possibilities: April Fool’s Day, or Easter. Today is the former, and Luka still hasn’t figured out if Chat is planning to show up. He hadn’t dropped any hints on St. Patrick’s Day—actually, he hadn’t said much at all, since he and Luka had been busy making out—so Luka has no way to tell what Chat is planning.

Easter seems more like Chat’s style. It’s a more conventional holiday, like Christmas or New Year’s, and there are plenty of opportunities for Easter-themed gimmicks. (There’s also the possibility that Chat will show up in a giant rabbit suit, which Luka hopes isn’t the case. He prefers the cat costume.)

At the same time, while Chat might be a romantic, he’s also a prankster. Luka has a hard time believing that Chat will stay away on April Fool’s Day. In fact, he’s well-aware that he’s opening himself up to attack by sitting out in the open on the deck of the Liberty. If he ends up getting pranked by Chat, he supposes it’s his fault for trying to enjoy the nice weather.

Footsteps thump against the deck, and Luka frowns, dog-earing the page he’s on. “Hey,” he says, glancing up. “What’s…” He trails off when he realizes that the blond boy staring back at him isn’t quite who he expected. “Adrien?”

“That’s me,” Adrien says. He rubs the back of his neck. “Um, I just got done with a photoshoot, but I convinced Nathalie to let me drop by and say hi.”

Slowly, Luka sets his book on the small table next to his chair. Somehow, despite all the April Fool’s Day scenarios he considered, he failed to anticipate that Chat might decide to show up as Adrien.

Luka would never say this out loud, since he’s determined not to pressure Adrien into anything—but he’s still a bit frustrated by the fact that Adrien won’t just _say_ he’s Chat. Luka knows it. Adrien knows that Luka knows it. And on one hand, Luka understands that it’s redundant for Adrien to reveal his identity at this point. On the other, it would be a nice show of trust. Hearing the words directly from Adrien’s mouth would reassure Luka that it’s alright for him to know Chat’s secret identity, that it wasn’t an accident, that there’s nothing wrong with Luka guarding Chat’s secret.

“It’s good to see you,” Luka says. He moves to stand up, but Adrien holds up his hands to stop him.

“No, no!” Adrien says. “You don’t have to get up. Actually, is it okay if I sit for a few minutes?” He laughs. “I was on my feet for most of the photoshoot, so I’m not really in the mood for standing.”

“Sure,” Luka says. He gestures to the chair next to his. “Make yourself comfortable.”

He tries not to squint at Adrien as he sits down. It’s not the first time Adrien has visited Luka on the Liberty, but it’s the first time he’s visited on a holiday. For a moment, Luka wonders if this means that Adrien is finally ready to move forward with their relationship—until he realizes that there’s no way Adrien is going to confess to Luka on April Fool’s Day. The boy might be dense, but he’s not _that_ bad.

“What are you reading?” Adrien asks.

Luka sighs. “I’m not reading, really. I guess I have a lot on my mind.”

Lips pressed together, Adrien nods. “That’s…too bad.”

Luka resists the urge to say, _Yes, and it’s kind of your fault._ On St. Patrick’s Day, he promised to give Adrien time to work through his feelings. He needs to honor that promise. “It’s fine,” he says. “The weather is nice, at least.”

Adrien hums in agreement, settling back in his chair. “It really feels like spring, doesn’t it? Which is nice, since spring is my favorite season. Everything feels new. Kind of like a fresh start.” He glances at Luka. “For—for nature, I mean. Because the trees grow new leaves and stuff. I…wasn’t talking about people.”

Maybe he wasn’t, but now Luka can’t help but read into Adrien’s words. What exactly does he mean by _a fresh start?_ Luka wishes he knew.

He can tell Adrien is at ease from his relaxed posture and loose body language. The usual tension in his muscles is nowhere to be found. And yet…he’s a bit fidgety. Luka supposes that could be due to their complicated romantic situation, but that doesn’t quite feel like the right answer.

Something thuds against the deck. “Oops!” Adrien says. “I dropped my phone.” He twists in his seat and reaches for the fallen cell phone, but it seems to be just out of reach underneath Luka’s chair. “I guess it fell out of my pocket.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like you have much room in those pockets,” Luka comments. Then he wonders if it was awkward to point out how tight Adrien’s pants are. “Uh—here, let me get that for you.”

He bends forward to get the phone, and as he does, he senses a shift in the air. Almost as if someone has moved into his space. Then, so lightly that Luka thinks he’s imagined it, he feels something brush against his back.

Luka frowns, handing Adrien’s phone to him. “Did you just touch my back?”

“No,” Adrien says, his eyes far too wide to be innocent. “Maybe it was a bug or something.”

Still frowning, Luka reaches behind himself and feels his back. “Is there something—”

“Nothing!” Adrien says, far too quickly. He grabs Luka’s wrist and tugs lightly. “There’s nothing…”

Luka’s searching fingers brush against something that feels like paper. “Nothing?” he says, as he pulls the paper off his back and holds it up for Adrien to see.

The first thing Luka notices is that it’s a piece of paper cut in the shape of a fish. Ah, yes. Poisson d’avril. Luka’s not surprised.

Then Luka realizes there’s something written on the fish: _KISS ME._

Adrien pointedly stares at the deck of the ship, his face bright red.

“Kiss me,” Luka reads, even though Adrien must know what it says. “You know, I don’t think that was on my back a few minutes ago.”

“Oh,” Adrien says, glancing up with wide eyes. “No, um—I think it was, actually—maybe someone else—”

“Were you putting this there for yourself?” Luka asks.

He’s partly teasing Adrien, but he’s also curious. Is Adrien trying to goad Luka into kissing _him?_ That’s definitely unexpected. Adrien has hidden behind his mask for every other one of their encounters—and considering that Adrien still isn’t ready to ask Luka out, Luka doubts that Adrien is ready to kiss him unmasked, detransformed, and in broad daylight.

“No,” Adrien says. “I was…you know…”

Luka raises his eyebrows. “What do I know?”

“Putting it there for someone else?” Adrien says. He smiles tightly, his teeth peeking out from his lips like a tiny cry for help. “You know.”

Slowly, Luka nods. Apparently they’re going to pretend that Luka doesn’t know Adrien is Chat. He supposes he can play along with that.

“Okay,” Luka says, turning the fish over in his hands. “Would this happen to be the same person who’s been dropping by to flirt with me every holiday?”

“That’s the guy,” Adrien says. “He sends his regards, by the way.”

Luka tries not to roll his eyes. “Does he, now.”

“Would I lie?” Adrien asks, leaning forward.

 _No,_ Luka thinks, _but you’d certainly avoid the truth._

“I guess not,” Luka says. “Is he nearby, then? I would guess he’s waiting to swoop in and steal his kiss.”

“That was the plan,” Adrien says. “I was supposed to, um, plant the fish—and then he was going to drop by and collect.”

Suddenly, like a burst of inspiration for a song, Luka has an idea. He knows that he can’t push Adrien to say anything he’s not ready to say, of course. At the same time, well…they both know that Luka knows Adrien is Chat. And it _is_ April Fool’s Day. Surely Adrien wouldn’t fault him for having a bit of fun.

“Well,” Luka says, raising his eyebrows. “If he really wanted to make sure that _he_ got the kiss, then he probably should have set up the prank himself. Don’t you think?”

“Uh.” Adrien blinks. “That’s…I mean…”

“And you know,” Luka says, unable to keep a smile from tugging at his lips. “It _is_ April Fool’s Day. So it’s only fair if I…” He reaches forward and presses the taped side of the fish to Adrien’s chest, right near his heart. “Oh, look at that.”

Adrien glances down at the fish on his shirt, then back up at Luka. His cheeks are bright red. “I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to put it on someone’s back.”

Luka shrugs. “We don’t follow tradition around here.”

Still blushing, Adrien fiddles with the paper fish. “I’m just the messenger, you know.”

“I know,” Luka says, smiling. “And I just realized—what better way to prank my admirer than to kiss his messenger instead?”

Adrien rubs the back of his neck. “Well. It’s hard to argue with that logic.”

“I am wondering, though,” Luka says, leaning forward. “Am I just playing into his hands? Is this all part of his plan?”

“No,” Adrien says. “Definitely not.”

Luka nods. “It’s nice to catch him off-guard for once.” He leans back in his seat and clasps his hands on his stomach. “Usually I’m the one who doesn’t know what’s going to happen next.”

“That—that’s not true,” Adrien says. “I—he has a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen!”

Fighting back a smile, Luka says, “Does he?”

Adrien splutters out a variety of consonants. When he finally gets his tongue under control, he says, “Well—you’re going to…” He vaguely waves a hand. “Me, aren’t you?”

“What am I going to do to you?” Luka asks. He thinks he might finally have this flirting thing figured out, if Adrien’s deepening blush is anything to go by.

“You know,” Adrien says. “The…the fish…”

“I did put the fish on you,” Luka notes. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. Maybe I’ll finally get some reading done now that I have company.”

Adrien frowns, his brow scrunching adorably. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense. How can you read more easily with someone—”

“Let me see where I left off,” Luka says, picking up his book from the table next to him. “I want to finish this chapter, at least, before I go downstairs.”

He slowly opens the book and pages through it to check. To his disappointment, it turns out that the page he dog-eared is the second-to-last page of the chapter. He’d been hoping to drag out his joke for a bit longer than that.

“Oh,” Adrien says, peering at the book. “That’s not too bad. You only have—”

“I think I dog-eared the wrong page,” Luka says, flipping back a few pages. “I don’t remember reading any of that.”

“Wait,” Adrien says. He makes a grab for the book. “That’s not—”

“Adrien,” Luka says, pulling the book out of reach. “If you want something to read, I can go downstairs and get you a book, but I’m reading this one.”

Adrien stares at Luka as if he just told him he could never eat sweets again. “Luka,” he whines, pawing at Luka’s arm. “Don’t do this.”

“You know,” Luka says, keeping his eyes fixed on the pages of his book. He knows all too well how potent Adrien’s kitten eyes are. “I’m always so busy with Kitty Section and writing music that I don’t have much time to read. This is the first time in a while that I’ve gotten to sit down and enjoy a book.”

He’s partly telling the truth; he _is_ busy with music, and he often doesn’t have time to read. But he’s also lying. If he honestly had to choose between reading a book and making out with Adrien Agreste, he’d choose the latter every time.

Luka can _feel_ the pout on Adrien’s face, even if he can’t see it. “But—Luka,” Adrien says. “It won’t take long to…you know…”

A small snort escapes Luka, even as he tries to tamp down his laughter. Adrien’s inability to finish his sentences is making this all too easy. “To finish this chapter?” Luka says. “Maybe. I don’t know, I’m a pretty slow reader.”

Growling, Adrien settles back in his seat, leaving Luka to his book.

Biting back a smile, Luka stares at the page he’s already read, not bothering to reread it. He’s more interested in the way Adrien keeps shifting in his seat and making small noises of displeasure, probably hoping that he can weaken Luka’s resolve.

Luka rolls his eyes. Cats are used to getting their way. He’s sure this is driving Adrien crazy.

It’s nice, though, to be the one in control this time. Usually, Chat is the one who dangles the kiss in front of Luka and goads him into it, so he obviously didn’t expect Luka to turn the tables on him.

This is also the first holiday that Luka actually has a firm idea of where they stand. On St. Patrick’s Day, Chat had promised that he’d eventually say yes to Luka, as long as he had a bit more time to sort out his feelings and fears. Luka can finally relax a bit, now that he doesn’t feel compelled to chase after Chat.

He finds himself smiling as he stares at his book. Sitting here with Adrien, laughing and teasing, just enjoying each other’s company—he’s looking forward to more of that.

“Luka,” Adrien whispers.

“Yes?” Luka says.

“You’ve been staring at the same page for three minutes. I counted.”

Luka plants his finger on a random spot on the page, then turns to Adrien with an eyebrow raised. “It’s not nice to mock people’s reading speeds, Adrien.”

“You’re not even reading,” Adrien hisses.

“That could be because you keep distracting me,” Luka says levelly. Years of meditation have prepared him for staring down a supermodel who’s on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

“Luka,” Adrien whines. “Are you ever going to finish this chapter?”

“Well,” Luka says, “if you want to guarantee I finish it, you could read it to me.”

Adrien blinks. “You—are you serious?”

“Of course,” Luka says. “You know me, Adrien. I don’t joke around.”

“Except on April Fool’s Day, apparently,” Adrien mutters. He grabs the book from Luka’s hands and sets it on his lap. “Okay, what line were you on?”

“Oh, I forget,” Luka says. He leans back and closes his eyes. “You can just start from the top of the page.”

Adrien growls, but a moment later, he begins reading from the book. At first, he reads as if it’s a chore, hastily rattling off the words like a student being forced to read aloud in class. Luka struggles to keep a straight face as Adrien monotonously recounts a heated exchange between two characters, somehow making an intense confrontation sound like a weather report.

There’s the sound of a page turning, and then Adrien says, “Do I seriously have to do this?”

“What?” Luka says, trying not to laugh. “You don’t like spending time with me?”

Adrien groans. “Of course I do, it’s just—I—”

“Could you read a bit slower, maybe?” Luka says. “I’m having trouble keeping up. And could you do different voices for the characters? It’s hard to tell who’s speaking.”

A series of strangled sounds exit Adrien’s mouth. “You—why—yes. Of course.”

“You have a pretty voice,” Luka adds. “You should use it.”

Adrien snorts. “That sounds a little inappropriate.”

“Well, I guess I know what _your_ mind is on.”

Sighing, Adrien starts reading again. This time, his warm voice is slower, more measured, taking time to appreciate the sounds of the words as he reads them off the page. Luka is suddenly able to appreciate the flow of the writing, the assonance and consonance, things he sort of noticed when skimming but wasn’t really able to enjoy.

Truth be told, he’s always liked hearing things read aloud. It’s like a way of turning books into music.

And of course, there’s no denying that Adrien’s voice is musical. The lilt he usually has as Chat Noir is more pronounced as he narrates, his tongue waltzing from syllable to syllable. When he creates different voices for the characters, it doesn’t sound over-the-top. Luka can hear him savoring each word, doing his best to bring the story to life in the air between them.

He bites his tongue, tempted to suggest to Adrien that he pursue a career in narrating audio books.

Instead, he focuses on Adrien’s voice, allowing the honeyed tone to lull him into drowsiness. As a musician, Luka is drawn to sound—and so, it’s no surprise that he feels his stomach fluttering at Adrien’s words, and finds himself listening to Adrien’s speech like he’s listening to a song.

His mind wanders to other times he’s noticed Adrien’s voice. Valentine’s Day, when Chat had shakily thanked Luka for his song with tears in his eyes. Halloween, when Chat had mumbled sleepily as he dozed against Luka, a forgotten movie playing in the background. And any time they kiss, really, when Chat hums and gasps against Luka’s lips, each tiny sound punching the air from Luka’s lungs.

“Luka?” Adrien asks.

Luka smiles, sleep blurring his brain. His name sounds so sweet on Adrien’s tongue.

“Luka,” Adrien repeats. Something nudges Luka’s arm. “I finished the chapter. Are you awake?”

Luka cracks an eye open and finds that Adrien is leaning across the space between them, the open book dangling from his right hand. “Hm?”

Adrien groans. “Don’t tell me I have to read that all over again,” he says, eyes wide. “Luka, I did my best, but this is starting to border on psychological torture and I—”

A laugh bursts out of Luka. “Relax,” he says. “You don’t have to read it again. I got a little distracted by the sound of your voice, but I can always reread it later.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“I’m just being honest,” Luka says. “I like listening to you. Maybe I should have you read to me more often.”

That’s a thought: lying in the sunlight with his head on Adrien’s lap, listening as Adrien’s soft voice reads passages from a book. Luka wonders if Adrien would be willing to make that a regular thing.

“Maybe another time,” Adrien says. “But for now, can we get back to this?” He taps the fish on his chest.

“What about it?” Luka asks.

Adrien gives Luka what can only be described as _a look._

“That’s right,” Luka says. “I was thinking maybe I should kiss the messenger to retaliate against my prankster.”

“Right,” Adrien says, leaning forward. Luka worries that he’s going to accidentally fall out of his seat.

“But I don’t know if he’ll be okay with that,” Luka says.

“I think he’ll be fine.”

“I think so, too,” Luka says, “but I don’t know for sure, and I don’t want to be unfaithful.”

“Luka,” Adrien says. His fingers curl into the sleeve of Luka’s hoodie. “Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Because it feels like you’re punishing me, and—”

“No, no,” Luka says. He rests his hand on top of Adrien’s, noting that his skin is a bit chilled. It’s strange, when he’s so used to Chat Noir being warm. “I’m just teasing. And you didn’t do anything wrong…but you _did_ visit on April Fool’s Day and try to prank me. Aren’t I allowed to retaliate?”

“Technically, it’s not my prank,” Adrien says.

“Technically,” Luka says, leaning closer, “that’s a lie.”

Adrien’s gaze flicks down to Luka’s lips. He’s close enough that Luka can see each of the sun-kissed lashes framing his eyes. “I suppose the prank was rather devious,” Adrien says. “It’s only fair if you get payback.”

He leans even closer, and Luka has to summon every ounce of patience he has to avoid diving in and kissing Adrien right then and there. He has to resist if he’s going to see this prank come to fruition.

Gripping Adrien’s chin, Luka gradually leans forward, narrowing the distance between them centimeter by centimeter. Adrien’s eyes flutter shut, and Luka’s lips just _barely_ brush against his.

Then Luka moves and presses a kiss to the corner of Adrien’s mouth. He lets his lips linger for a moment, savoring the soft feel of Adrien’s skin—and then he pulls away with a smile.

Eyes half-lidded, Adrien leans forward, chasing Luka’s lips. Luka stops him by pressing his index finger to Adrien’s mouth.

“If he really wanted me to kiss him,” Luka says, “then he should have come here himself.”

Adrien’s eyes go cross-eyed as he tries to focus on the finger smooshing his lips. “But—I—you…”

Smirking, Luka removes his finger from Adrien’s lips and reaches down to take the book from Adrien’s hand. Then he stands and stretches his arms above his head, yawning. “I’m glad I got some reading done,” he says. “Let’s do this again, sometime?”

Forehead scrunched, Adrien glances back and forth between the fish and Luka. His fingers brush the spot near his mouth that Luka kissed. “I…but…the fish…”

“A bientôt, Adrien,” Luka says, starting toward the stairs that lead below deck. “Next time, try a holiday that doesn’t involve pranking.”

“Wait—that—you…”

“Oh, right,” Luka says, turning around. “One more thing.”

Adrien wets his lips. “Yes?”

Luka points at the fish on Adrien’s chest. “You might want to take that off before your fans see it.”

And with that, he leaves an adorably stunned Adrien Agreste alone on the deck of the Liberty.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone is well! Please take care of yourselves.
> 
> Also, I will be posting the final one-shot in this series sometime next month! I might write another one after that for Bastille Day or something, but the series will "officially" conclude in May. Thank you all so much for reading and/or commenting!


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